The Devils were priced at -160 not -200. They have now been bet up to -200. The current line now does hold some value with Florida. I myself thought enough of the Devils to pay the opening line -160 price tag. Florida is a scrappy team, but also extremely inexperienced when it comes to playoff hockey, and they were looking a little gassed as well down the stretch.

It's not a knock on Florida to think they will lose as they accomplished quite a bit with their limited overall skill level.

The Devils have some serious playoff experience in their small core group of players and that means a lot at this time of year.

People in this thread comparing the Devils record with that of the Panthers is just comical. The Panthers play in by far the weakest division in the NHL, while the Devils play in a division that provides the East Conference with HALF of it's playoff teams who happen to be the top 3 seeds point wise, and with Jersey being tied with Boston for the 4th most.

The Panthers did fair well enough against the Devils in the regular season but as has already been noted in here that means nothing now.

I do see a competitive series but in the end New Jersey should be ashamed of themselves if they do not defeat this Panther team.

New Jersey played 6 more games against the triumvirate of PIT/NYR/PHI than Florida did. Some of that is also offset by 6 games against the Islanders who are worse than anyone in the southeast. Florida also played 1 more game against teams that made the playoffs from the west. Not a big difference.

New Jersey played 6 more games against the triumvirate of PIT/NYR/PHI than Florida did. Some of that is also offset by 6 games against the Islanders who are worse than anyone in the southeast. Florida also played 1 more game against teams that made the playoffs from the west. Not a big difference.

islanders aren't that bad, they did have more wins then the hurricanes this year... NYI also finished with 79 points(6 more then last year), it's not like they are the blue jackets who are dead last at 65 points

New Jersey played 6 more games against the triumvirate of PIT/NYR/PHI than Florida did. Some of that is also offset by 6 games against the Islanders who are worse than anyone in the southeast. Florida also played 1 more game against teams that made the playoffs from the west. Not a big difference.

That's 8 much harder games for the Devils compared to 8 much easier games for the Panthers, which is a potential 16 pointswing difference. I think that is quite a bit myself. I counted the Islanders as harder than most of the Southwest because of below.

Those terrible Islanders went 12-6-2 against the pathetic Southwest. Put them in the Southwest in place of Florida and give them 8 more games against those teams instead of the 8 against the four powerhouses in their division, and it is not at all probable, but yet remotely possible the Islanders could have had close to another 13 out of a possible 16 points based on those numbers. Another 13 points would have tied the Islanders with Washington and Ottawa in the standings. The Isles finished ahead of Montreal by 1, behind Toronto by 1, behind Carolina by 3 (more regulation wins though), and behind both Winnipeg and Tampa Bay by 5. You put them in the Southwest and they easily finish ahead of those teams in the standings based on their numbers.

The Panthers went 8-2-2 against Carolina and Winnipeg, that is 18 out of a possible 14 points. Just those games alone against those two sad sack teams provide the Panthers with a chance at 8 more possible points than the Devils get because they are busy playing the likes of the Penguins and Rangers instead, and gaining 4 instead of a probable 8 if their lucky.

Let's also keep in mind playing weaker opponents is less stress on a team physically and emotionally, and therefore takes less out of you. You do not face as many letdown situations following big showcase games or look ahead situations in games leading up to big showcase games, which also accounts for some possible point differential. In simple terms, you overall have a much easier ride. The Flyers, Rangers, Devils and Penguins all go to war with each other (literally) with them being the top teams in the conference, and are all therefore more susceptible to more wear and tear.

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